Network Health for All: What's up

Health Care and Management in Tropical Countries

Basel, 11 March - 14 June 2013

Swiss TPH "This 3 months full time course aims at introducing participants to the fundamentals of international health with a range of skills and knowledge needed to work as a member of a district management team. The participatory course is designed for people who already have a first qualification in a health-related profession, and at least two years professional experience."

Primary Health Care and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Where do we stand and where to go?

Basel, 10 April 2013

Swiss TPH This year’s Swiss Tropical and Public Health Spring Symposium will allow participants to learn from recent experiences in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in strengthening primary health care services from the NCD prevention and treatment point of view. The symposium will expose and examine the different aspects of NCDs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as the evidence base and emerging implementation research agenda for NCDs; achievements, challenges and obstacles to primary health care delivery; innovative approaches to NCD prevention and control in primary health care settings; the future of primary health care with emphasis of service delivery in relation to NCDs.

aidsfocus.ch conference: A future without AIDS - Realising a vision

Bern, 11 April 2013

MMS A future without AIDS is possible. However, it takes concerted efforts by all to make this vision come true. aidsfocus.ch will together with stakeholders from South and North assess and reflect on what we reached so far and identify and discuss promising and successful initiatives and strategies to face challenges for the future of the AIDS response. A special focus will be on role and priorities of aidsfocus.ch in the joint struggle toward a future without AIDS.

How to plan successfully? A focus on priority setting, resource allocation and strategic planning

Basel, 17 June - 5 July 2013

Swiss TPH This intense course aims on enabling the students to plan health projects and programmes, based on systematic analyses of the respective setting. It focuses on practical aspects of the planning and implementation process, using the techniques of a simulation exercise and computer based support. At the end a full project proposal is produced.

Environment and Health – Bridging South, North, East and West

Basel, 19 - 23 August 2013

ISEE "The ISEE (International Society for Environmental Epidemiology), ISES (International Society of Exposure Science), and the ISIAQ (International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate) invite you to the 2013 conference in Basel, hosted by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH). The conference aims at presenting recent scientific achievements in the field of exposure science and environmental health from all relevant disciplines and covering a broad range of topics."

Network MMS: News

Ann Aerts new Head of the Novartis Foundation

Successor of Klaus Leisinger

The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development announced the appointment of Dr. Ann Aerts as its new Head, effective 1 January 2013. Ann takes over from Prof. Dr. Klaus M. Leisinger, who led the foundation for over 30 years. Leisinger remains Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Novartis Foundation and also assumed the role of Special Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of Novartis.

International Health and more: Issues, Debates, Tools

The responsibilities of health-care personnel working in armed conflicts and other emergencies

ICRS Guide launched

ICRC "This guide is intended to help health-care personnel adapt their working methods to the exigencies of armed conflicts and other emergencies. The provision of health care in these circumstances can give rise to many unforeseeable dilemmas. The guide cannot provide answers to such dilemmas; it should, however, provoke reflection, ease the making of decisions, fuel discussion and, ideally, provide guidance for practice in the most difficult circumstances." (pdf)

Implementation of Mental Health Care Package for Children in Areas of Armed Conflict

A Case Study from Burundi, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Sudan

PLOS Medicine "A recent review demonstrated that mental health problems are a leading cause of health-related disability in children and adolescents worldwide. Even though children and adolescents constitute around 50% of the population in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), their mental health needs are generally neglected. This is especially the case in settings where children are surrounded by perpetual violence and poverty. Violence may impact mental health and broader aspects of psychological and social well-being. This situation requires an intervention response that is comprehensive, as well as affordable, effective, and feasible to scale up."

Translating Coverage Gains into Health Gains for All Women and Children: The Quality Care Opportunity

“Effective coverage" should be the new narrative

PLOS Medicine "Improving and assuring the quality of care received by all women and children in low-income countries is crucial to achieving health, equity, and human rights goals. Now is the time to seize this opportunity and to reposition quality at the centre of debates on universal health coverage and in post-2015 development priorities. “Effective coverage" should be the new narrative in these debates, meaning high and equitable coverage of quality care. This repositioning requires a fundamental shift in policy and programme mindsets to accept quality care as essential to protecting lives, well-being, and scarce health resources," write Wendy J. Graham, Affette McCaw-Binns and Stephen Munjanja on PLOS Medicine. They conclude by highlighting four priorities to help create a policy, programme, and research environment conducive to quality health systems.

WHO heralds “new phase” in the fight against neglected tropical diseases

WHO "WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases*, thanks to a new global strategy, a regular supply of quality assured, cost-effective medicines and support from global partners. The report Sustaining the drive to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases reveals new momentum has shifted the world closer to the elimination of many of these conditions that take their greatest toll amongst the poor."